This invention is related to the preparation of ethanol, and more particularly is related to a process for producing ethanol through an integrated series of catalytic process operations which form ethanol from a methanol, carbon monoxide and hydrogen feedstock.
Ethanol is a well known industrial chemical which has been produced in great volume for many years, for a variety of usages.
A number of processes are known in the art for reacting methanol with carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the presence of a variety of catalyst systems to produce ethanol. However, most of these processes suffer from a number of major flaws, such as producing a large number of unwanted co-products, and being uneconomical for industrial operation.
Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a novel, effective and economic process for producing ethanol, wherein the feedstock materials comprise only methanol, carbon monoxide and hydrogen.